The Time Trinity
by Mindmaze
Summary: Doctor who OC story. Three friends are separated throughout the Doctor who universe meeting the Doctor at different times from one another through out his (9/10/11th) regenerations. Cliché, craziness and companionship ahead, very timey wimey.
1. Finding the crack

Hit a bit of writers block concerning my other stories so decided to pass the time by writing a small fic dedicated to The Scarlet-Mockingjay and WinterWolf13 however I do hope the rest of you enjoy it as well.

….

"Rachael! Wait up!" called the young blonde Natasha who was forever the voice of caution within the small rag tag group.

The group consisted of the twins Rachael and Joanne who had not long turned 22 and Natasha 19 who all despite their age were currently in the process of breaking and entering the old steel works factory which had long since been in a state of abandonment for the past fifteen years.

Their friendship with one another span back to their early child hood and had remained strong throughout their older years despite the three of them going down different paths.

It was because of this long lasting friendship that Natasha knew the twin's particularly well.

For starters despite being twin's they were nothing alike. Sure you could argue they were both brunettes but this wasn't quite valid as Rachael was a medium ash brown in tone whereas Joanne was more of a deep ebony.

When it came down to it they were about as alike as their eye colours. Joanne's was green and Rachael's was blue, something strikingly similar about the two colours and yet they were undeniably different. In fact the only similarity Natasha could find would be their cheek bones when they smiled and their stubborn if not daring personality's which unfortunately for her had reared its ugly head.

"Keep your voice down Tasha; you want someone to catch us?" Joanne scolded as they made their way around the metal fence which surrounded the factory.

Natasha's green eyes met with Joanne's familiar concerned gaze as the brunette glanced back over her shoulder at her. The girl's excitement had dimmed slightly in wake of her own hesitation. Joanne had an uncanny ability to tell when she was upset which she was both grateful for as well as simultaneously irritated.

Unlike Rachael who had been a solid friend throughout primary Joanne had only became a firmer friend in their early teens which meant that sometime she couldn't help but feel as if the girl treated her like a child instead of an equal like her twin did. It comforted her to know she could always turn to said girl but it also irritated her as their age gap wasn't that big and she didn't need mothering all the time. Subsequently she partly suspected the mothering bit was just part of Joanne's personality.

"I just don't think this is the best idea, the place is practically falling apart!" she decided on voicing her main concerns on their safety whilst they still had a chance to turn back.

This time it was Rachael who spoke up as she turned away from the metal fence, "Well that's the whole point! It'd be no fun if it was a normal building, besides Jo needs to get her pictures taken," she finished with a grin that had her resolve crumbling.

Eyes once again switching to Joanne as Rachael went back to moving some of the wires out of the way to make the hole in the fence they had come across bigger, she let out a sigh as she recalled the whole reason they were here in the first place.

Joanne had taken up Photography as one of her courses in University and consequently needed to take some pictures of some worn out buildings as part of her research. When she had agreed to lend a hand she hadn't expected something as extreme as this, the place was such a wreck that she half expected some of the floor boards to cave through when they walked on them.

"Tasha you knew what my project involved when I first started and I don't think I'll get a better photo opportunity then now" Joanne tried to rationalise with her causing her shoulders to sag as she added, "I promise we'll be in and out."

Deciding that was as good as she was going to get and not wanting to let her friends down despite the nagging voice in the back of her head warning her away she queried, "In and out?"

"It'll be like we were never there" Joanne confirmed, the corner of her lip twitching as she tried to fight off a smile.

"Okay then" Natasha agreed resignedly, as long as they were quick she would put up with it. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

"Great!" Joanne exclaimed, finally losing the battle and letting her grin bloom into life as she reached forward to give Natasha one of her rare hugs which she was happy to return.

The moment was interrupted by Rachael hollering from the other side of the fence, "Don't worry you two take your time it's not like we could be busted any moment now. No you two take as long as you like."

As Natasha pulled away she was sure she heard Joanne mutter something like, "I should have never of taught her sarcasm" but had little time to think on it as all thoughts that might have done so were wiped from her mind the second she noticed Rachael standing on the other side of the fence a devilish smile appearing on her face at their reactions.

"H-how, how did you…?" Natasha stammered just as her eye's came to rest on the hole in the fence which was now wide open enough for them to crawl through.

"Did you learn that from your travels?" Joanne asked as she wasted no time crawling through said hole, referencing to Rachael's previous year gap around the world. Rachael had been unable to settle on any particular career path and as a result had decided to take a year out to travel and get her head straight.

Rachael had yet to tell them any specific details about her trip but some of the effects were obvious to anyone who had known her previously to see, such as the girl's new found confidence.

"Something like that" Rachael replied with a smirk as Natasha made her own way through the gap before standing up and dusting herself off.

"Well I don't know about you two but I reckon it's time to look around" Joanne spoke up, easily switching the conversation over to one of more safer ground and with a smile headed towards the east wing of the factory where the green fire doors laid battered in.

"Looks like she's getting into her element then" Rachael commented to Natasha as she gestured at her twins distancing form before adding, "better make sure she doesn't get into any trouble, you know how she just loves it so" with a wry smile before following after Joanne causing Natasha to do likewise.

Entering through the same doorway as Joanne they were immediately greeted with a wide open space the light from outside pooling in through long streams across the room from where the wooden boards on the window had been torn away.

Unidentifiable machinery or at least to Natasha anyways stood in the centre of the room gathering dust.

Rachael had gone straight over to said machinery her curiosity causing her to examine it closer giving it a knock for good measure. The knock proved it to be hollow due to the noise it produce revealing to them it was nothing more than an empty shell.

Stepping further into the room her footsteps disturbing the dust which had settled she was aware of Joanne setting up her camera on the far end of the room, aiming the lens up at one of the wooden beams which was fractured and covered in some type of fungus.

"We'll start here then make our way through the rooms before focusing on the outside area when we leave" Joanne explained as she adjusted the angle her camera sat at to make sure the shot included the broken glass from one of the higher up windows in the picture.

"Tasha, can you do me a favour and hold this sheet up here" Joanne instructed her as she frowned through the camera at the scene before her, "There's too much light coming through, it's ruining the mood I'm trying to create."

Doing as she was instructed she held the black sheet up out of the shot so that it would stop the light from getting in the way of Joanne's picture. Five minutes later Joanne withdrew from her camera, a content smile across her face as she thanked her for her assistance.

Folding the sheet up so it could be packed away again as Joanne flicked through the photo's she'd just taken she questioned her of where Rachael had disappeared to. Looking up Joanne let her hand holding the camera fall to her side as she looked around her eyebrows drawing together at the disappearance of her twin.

Letting out a slightly frustrated sigh she said, "Let's go look around, she can't have gotten too far" clearly annoyed at her sisters antics.

Natasha herself wanted nothing more than to get out of there, the whole exploring thing was nowhere near as good as they made it out to be on the TV. Not only did the place smell of damp but she was also wary that there may be rats lurking around, something she did not wish to encounter.

After searching two rooms down a corridor they had found adjoining the original room they had been in and deciding to split up she eventually came across Rachael shinning her torch around one of the more dimly lit places due to it having only one small window.

Feeling a little bit mischievous Natasha sneaked up quietly behind Rachael before grabbing her by the shoulders whilst exclaiming, "Boo!" as loud as she could.

Rachael much to Natasha's joy reacted just as predicted letting out a screech of fright and jumping visibly under her hands. Unfortunately for her she did not predict Rachael's violent reaction as said girl swung around and shoved her backwards as she let out her scream of fright.

"Hey! Watch it!" Natasha exclaimed as she only just managed to catch her balance and stop herself from falling over.

"You were the one who startled me!" Rachael protested one had now resting on her chest clearly still recovering from her little scare.

The sound of footsteps caused the two of them to pause and turn towards the doorway just in time to see Joanne run into the room, panic written clearly across her face.

"I heard a scream" she said as way of explanation for her sudden entrance before her mind caught up with her and her features contorted with anger "Just what are you two playing at?"

"Nothing just messing around" Rachael automatically covered for her whilst dismissing Joanne with a wave of her hand. Joanne looked ready to retort when Rachael once again spoke up as she gestured to the wall next to her, "Look what I found, remind you of anything" glee clear in her voice.

Natasha and Joanne both looked to where Rachael had gestured and felt unwilling smiles come onto their faces.

Letting out a laugh Natasha responded with, "Only you would make that sort of link, you are such a child" although there was no real bite to her last remark.

"I believe the correct term is Whovian" Joanne corrected, her smile now a fully blown grin as all thoughts of her previous anger were forgotten.

Natasha herself couldn't help but admire how easily Joanne had been swayed by Rachael at just the slightest of distractions. "Still it was one hell of a distraction," she couldn't but think as she surveyed the impressive crack that ran horizontally along the middle of the wall.

Rachael turned her attention to Natasha, "Oh come off it, you knew what I was on about without me having to say it so you clearly like it more than you are letting on."

"Actually, Doctor who aside this would be a great addition to my collection" Joanne said whilst turning on her camera.

"Oh! Oh! Whilst you're at it take my picture next to it!" Rachael exclaimed whilst clicking her fingers as the idea struck her.

Joanne tried to keep her features stern at the request but quickly failed as her expression softened into a fond smile and she spoke up, "Fine but just the one though…are you sure you want to get that close?" whilst lifting up her camera in preparation.

"Psh, I'm not afraid of no crack" Rachael replied in mock bravo as placed her hands on her hips.

The smile that had made itself to Natasha's face at Rachael's little show faded as Joanne murmured to herself, "Huh…that's strange…" whilst looking through the camera.

"What's up?" she asked curiously as the frown appeared across Joanne's features.

"Some sort of light interference from the background…" she muttered not looking away from the camera.

Pulling away from it briefly Joanne fixed her with a slightly puzzled look before gesturing at the door, "Do you mind checking the room next door, just to make sure how deep the crack runs through the wall?"

It was now Natasha's turn to shoot Joanne a bewildered look however she decided to comply as Joanne was the one who knew all about photography therefore she probably knew what she was doing.

It didn't take her long to reach the room next door however she could find no signs of the crack on her side. She was heading back to tell Joanne of her finding's when she heard the startled yell, "Rachael!" which immediately sent her running.

Upon entering the room Lynda was surprised to see that Joanne was the only one there.

"What's going on? Where'd Rachael go?" she questioned, slowly approaching a very pale looking Joanne.

"I-I don't know" Joanne stammered out her reply the first sign something was wrong, "she was just here then…" Joanne trailed off her brow drawing together as she seemed lost in thought before she muttered, "But that's impossible…"

"Then what?" Natasha implored trying to make sense of what had happened in her absence.

"She just vanished" Joanne stated apparently in some sort of shock as she approached her and handed her the camera she was holding which on reflex Natasha accepted.

"Vanished?" Natasha questioned as Joanne approached the wall with the crack open, holding both of her hands up in front of her now that they were free just inches from the wall.

Ignoring her Joanne muttered, "It must have been some sort of trick" and then reached out to touch the wall.

The second Joanne's hand made contact with the concrete of the wall Natasha took in a sharp breath of air as the space where one of her closest of friends had previously stood was now suddenly empty.

"What? What? What!" resounded through her head followed by a sharp "impossible!" as she stumbled away from the wall despite her distance from it as her fight or flight response activated.

Natasha ran a hand through her hair as she tried to calm herself down knowing exactly where her thoughts had jumped to and quickly dismissing them.

That was fictional and therefore impossible, she needed to calm down and just think. Fear was making her judgement clouded and slowing her thinking process.

Taking a deep breath she thought through the actions of the twins. Had anything unusual occurred? She recalled Joanne acting a bit off as she left the room, something to do with the camera. Looking down at said camera in her hands she slowly raised it to eye level and pointed it towards the wall.

Looking through it she held the breath she had just breathed in and froze at what she could see through the camera.

Moving the camera away and looking at the wall the crack looked perfectly normal however moving the camera into her line of sight and looking at the wall that way the crack suddenly appeared lit up as if there was some sort of external light source lighting it up from the other side.

Joanne's instructions now made perfect sense.

Consequently she was even more on edge the distinctive feeling of goose bumps appearing up her arms making her want to wrap up in seven more layers.

Natasha suddenly stamped her foot childishly; "No!" she exclaimed before ranting, "Okay, you got me. Nice going you had me fooled for a second there but please this joke is starting to get lame now so you might as well come out."

She got no response as the room was as eerily silent as ever, "I was wondering why you were so insistent for me to come along, guess this was the reason. Some sort of practical joke? Was that why you had me look at the other side of the wall so I would have no choice to believe you just vanished? Yeah well nice try but you're forgetting one thing, I STILL REMEMBER YOU!" She continued ranting whilst crossing her arms, refusing to fall for the trap that had been set up for her as that was the only thing it could be.

"So not coming out? Guess I'll have to pull you out myself. What is it, some kind of trap door?" she questioned as she approached the wall. "Some sort of pressure device on the wall that opens it. Yeah well you can't fool me, as if I'd believe Doctor who was real" she kept going as she brought her hand towards the crack, "that's children's stu-…."

But she never got to finish as the room became deathly silent once more…

….

Okay so this is the opening chapter and pretty much explains how our three heroines end up in the Doctor who universe. If you don't like OC's or self inserts I suggest you don't read as that's pretty much what this will be, a self-insert of me and my friends which allows us to explore our favourite episodes of Doctor who, basically this is all for laughs. Regardless I thank you for reading this all the same and wish to inform you the next chapters will involve the each of the girl's individually gate crashing one of each of the doctor's (9,10,11) adventures before meeting up and from there who knows.


	2. Rachael meets 9

Hello again my lovely readers this chapter is from Rachael's perspective on her first adventure with the Doctor, please do enjoy. Oh and I do not own Doctor who just an over active imagination.

…...

As a small child I had never learned how to swim so naturally when it came to swimming lessons with my secondary school class in PE I mucked it up on the first go.

I had not long been in the water when I tripped and ended up going under however unlike my peers I was not able to get back up again.

I remember flailing about with both my arms and legs, frantic to get above the water once more. My panic had increased my heart rate making me even more desperate to take in the breath of air which at the time had been denied to me.

In the end I was rescued by the life guard to whom I was most grateful.

The memory surfaced to my mind as the achingly familiar sensation of suffocating made itself known.

One second I had been messing about pretending to be part of the cast of Doctor who and asking Joanne to take my picture besides the crack, next thing I know is I'm surrounded by a flickering of blue, brown, green and grey colours and suddenly I'm unable to breathe.

I tried taking in an even deeper breath but it was like there was no air around for my lungs to take in and I could feel my head becoming lighter as my hands reflexively went to my throat.

_"I can't breathe, I can't breathe, no, oh no, no, no, someone help!"_

My thoughts were becoming more and more erratic but I found myself too weak to express them out loud.

_"How long can a person survive without oxygen for?"_

_"Not long I imagine",_ I answered my own thoughts as the back of my throat started making strange gasping noises.

I couldn't breathe; it was the pool all over again except unlike last time there was no one coming to save me.

I was aware of shadows moving around within the murky colours that surrounded me and I closed my eyes to block them out. My consciousness was slipping; I could feel it fading away.

It was becoming harder to think, my emotions seemed further away…perhaps it wasn't too bad, at least my fear seemed dimmed despite the increased gargling/croaking noise my throat continued to make as it tried desperately to breathe in the air that just wasn't there.

_"My eyes are already shut…perhaps it wouldn't be too bad just to relax_…"

_"I never did find out what happe-…."_

….

(No one's P.O.V)

The Doctor and Rose soon found themselves "guided" to the reasonably luxurious office of the man behind the desk who was currently ignoring them in favour of watching curiously as the young man next to him held out the small alien device and began to explain what he thought it was.

"Well, you see the tubes on the side? It must be to channel something. I think maybe fuel" he began whilst gesturing to the tubes as he passed the device over.

"I really wouldn't hold it like that" the Doctor broke in somewhat amused by the way the little human minds worked in order to reach that conclusion.

"Shut it" he was scolded by the woman in the dark suit with her blonde wavy hair tied back who was currently standing to his right.

"Really, though, that's wrong" he continued ignoring her for the time being as he turned his attention back to the man behind the desk.

"Is it dangerous?" queried the younger man who couldn't have been a little older than Rose.

"No, it just looks silly" the Doctor replied with a grin before reaching fro said item. He froze mid-way when the distinctive noise of guns being cocked went off behind him, instead making eye contact with the man behind the desk who after a moment's hesitation handed him the small device.

"You just need to be-…" the Doctor started whilst focusing on the device. Carefully stroking his fingers along the artefact he finished, "…Delicate."

This caused the artefact to hum gently thus making the Doctor smile as he played a couple more notes much to the glee of the man behind the desk who was now leaning forward with a smile across his face as he awed, "It's a musical instrument."

"And it's a long way from home" the Doctor added with a smile whilst playing a few more notes.

"Here, let me" the man behind the desk spoke before snatching the device from the Doctor's hand.

He begins to stroke the device but his touch is too harsh making it instead play a series of unpleasant and clearly out of tune notes.

This causes the Doctor to prompt, "I did say delicate. It reacts to the smallest fingerprint. It needs precision."

Much to the surprise of everyone in the room a couple of goes later the man finally gets the hang of it causing the Doctor to smile slightly impressed, "Very good. Quite the expert" he comments.

"As are you" replies the man before tossing the instrument casually to the floor much to the Doctor's disbelief.

He instead chooses to address the Doctor, looking him in the eye before asking, "Who exactly are you?"

"I'm the Doctor. And who are you?" the Doctor replies steadily.

"Like you don't know. We're hidden away with the most valuable collection of extra-terrestrial artefacts in the world, and you just stumbled in by mistake" the man retorts clearly full of himself.

"Pretty much sums me up, yeah" the Doctor answers with a grin.

"The question is, how did you get in? Fifty three floors down-…" the man begins whilst walking around the desk and towards the Doctor before continuing, "…-with your little cat burglar accomplice. You're quite a collector yourself, she's rather pretty" he finishes now standing in front of the Doctor.

Rose unamused by his attitude remarks, "She's going to smack you if you keep calling her she."

"She's English too! Hey, little Lord Fauntleroy. Got you a girlfriend" the man replies almost gleefully to the boy who had first been showing him the alien artefacts.

"This is Mister Henry Van Statten" the boy says in order to deflect the sudden attention on himself.

"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose asks but is interrupted by the sound of alarms and the radio of one of the guards buzzing in before a voice comes through not seconds later.

"Sir we found one more intruder only one floor down from your present location, we think you might want to have a look over"

The woman shares a confused look with the guard before the he looks to Mr Van Statten for further instructions.

"You weren't traveling with any further accomplices, were you Doctor?" Van Statten enquires to said man.

"Nothing to do with me, I only came with Rose" the Doctor denies with a shake of his head although he did glance curiously at the guard's walkie talkie.

Mr Van Statten frowned at his reply before turning his attention to the guard, "Tell them were on our way down" he ordered him and began to head for the door.

"What do we do with these two Sir?" the woman in the suit added.

"Bring them with us. We can't take their word on it; this person could be working with them. It seems too much of a coincidence that this person shows up not long after they do in such a high tech facility no less." Van Statten replies as he heads out the door leaving the rest of them to follow.

"You heard him, move" the woman orders before trailing after Van Statten, the young man following a bit behind. The Doctor and Rose also follow them after a non to gentle shove by the guards holding the guns behind them although the Doctor seemed all too happy to find out what was going on.

A quick march to the elevator and a short ride down to the next floor they soon found themselves approaching a small group of guards no more than five, all of whom had their guns pointed on the prone form of a young woman.

As they approached they heard one of the guards say to another, "I don't think she's breathing" before shuffling uneasily on their feet apparently unsure on what to do.

The Doctor once again forgetting about all the guns trained on him strode forward past Van Statten and through the small group of guards whilst sarcastically commenting, "Oh yes, you just stand around with your guns I'm sure that's really helpful" before crouching down at the female's side.

He was unaware that as he had done so the guards had trained their guns on him but had been waved down by Mr Van Statten who was now curious as to what the Doctor would do.

Rose joined the Doctor after the guards had been dismissed feeling braver now she was less likely to get shot and crouched down on the other side of the female just as the Doctor checked for a pulse.

The female looked a little older than Rose but only about a few years. Her light brown hair fell about her shoulder in what appeared to be natural waves. She wore small flat heeled boots on her feet which she paired with grey leggings and a long purple top which had black print on it and a slightly lighter grey cardigan over said top.

The outside of the girl's throat had long red streaks going down it as if something had been rubbing against the outside of her neck hard enough to leave a mark. The sight of the Doctor frowning after taking her pulse caused Rose to grimace, _"she was only a little bit older than me, she couldn't be dead" _Rose thought slightly upset.

The Doctor's eyes widened from where he had double checked the girls pulse from her wrist as if an idea had struck him, "still warm" he muttered before instantly beginning chest compressions.

"Come on, come on, come on" he muttered as he kept on doing the compressions, mentally counting down how many he was doing.

"Rose, come here" he demanded without stopping causing Rose to hover uncertainly near the girl, not sure what the Doctor wanted her to do but willing to help.

The Doctor stopped in his compressions in order to grab Rose's hands and place them on the girl's chest before continuing the chest compressions except with his hands on top of Rose's.

"Keep going, just like that" he demanded before letting go of Rose's hands and moving to tilt the girl's head backwards, "Rose concentrate" he snapped when his companion hesitated.

Shaking off her unease Rose did as the Doctor instructed, counting out loud each of the compressions.

The Doctor in the meanwhile began giving the girl mouth to mouth in time with Rose's compressions desperate to at least save this person. He was so, so tired of seeing people die…and for some reason which he couldn't quite pin point, he felt like he owed it to someone to do this…like a memory he couldn't quite reach…had he heard of this girl before?

He didn't have time to think on the answer as with a final inhale of breathe he breathed into her mouth and she responded as she began to splutter and cough, blue eyes snapping open to meet with his own startled pair.

"We did it!" Rose joyfully cried as she stopped her chest compression as the girl turned to her side and began taking in greedy gulps of air, her face finally taking on some colour.

The Doctor had just grasped one of the girl's shoulders to steady her and was patting her on her back as she began coughing when he immediately let go out of surprise and instinctively pushed Rose away with his outstretched arm.

When the girl had begun coughing she had let out a gas/cloud like substance which was made up of brown and green like particles with the odd fleck of red and grey.

"But, that's impossible" the Doctor stated his eye's wide as he registered what the stuff was.

"You know what that stuff is?" Van Statten questioned making him look up for the first time and he was suddenly aware of the guns that were now trained on them since the girl had begun coughing.

"You can relax now, this stuffs not dangerous. It just shouldn't be here, certainly not out of a mere human" he explained as if he were talking to children.

Van Statten once again ordered his men to stand down as Rose asked him, "But what was that stuff Doctor?"

"It's not really got a name, I suppose you could call it void stuff if you like and it's impossible because the void is sealed off, there's no way this stuff can be here and it certainly shouldn't be visible…at least to the naked eye…no this is all wrong" the Doctor's voice was serious as he trailed off before a great big excited grin spread out across his face.

"What are you so happy about?" Rose questioned even as she returned the Doctor's grin which was just so infectious.

"Look at me, I haven't a clue what's going on…that's no happened before, fantastic!" the Doctor spoke his grin widening as he turned his attention back to the girl who now seemed more lucid as her breathing rate slowed down to more regular breaths.

"I want her taken down to the cages" Van Statten suddenly ordered causing the Doctor's head to whip around to face him even as two guards apprehended the girl by her arms.

"Just what are you doing?!" The Doctor demanded, "You don't know that she's a threat!" he continued as he stood up, looking from the girl who had been pulled from his arms then back to Van Statten.

Mr Van Statten appeared unaffected by the Doctor shouting at him and coolly replied, "Exactly, we don't know. But here's what I do know regardless of what that stuff was, I know she was still breaking and entering which means she needs to be taken for questioning regardless."

The guards began to drag the girl away who didn't put up much of a fight, her limbs seemed barely able to move almost like they were being slowed down by invisible weights attached to the ends of them.

Rose reached out to stop them but was blocked off by two more guards as they dragged the girl away.

"You saw her condition when she arrived here, don't give me that breaking and entering nonsense I thought you were smarter than the average ape!" The Doctor spat, his eyes narrowing at Van Statten as they moved from the girl's disappearing form back to the pompous man in front on him.

"You yourself said you didn't know what was going on and you made out to be the expert, we all saw that what did you call it "void stuff" come from her mouth she could be a threat." Van Statten said in a clipped tone.

"Ah I get it now." The Doctor said moving to stand face to face with Van Statten ignoring the guns as they moved onto him, " you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Anything you don't understand, you lock up, just like you're doing to her."

"And you claim greater knowledge?" Van Statten replied almost scornfully.

"I don't need to make claims, I know how good I am" the Doctor quipped back, having had just about enough of this man.

"And yet, I captured you. Right next to the Cages. The same place you're trying to stop her going to, bit of a coincidence don't you think? What were you doing down there?" Van Statten questioned now curious.

"You tell me" the Doctor deflected.

"The cages currently hold my one living specimen…well soon to be two" Van Statten added smugly.

"And what's that?" The Doctor couldn't help but ask now concerned for the other poor being Van Statten had gotten a hold of, he wouldn't let the man get away with it.

"Like you don't know" Van Statten smirked back.

"I'm tired of playing games" the Doctor commented his eye's darkening as his thoughts once again reminded him of the girl this imbecile had just imprisoned right in front of him.

"You want to see it?" Van Statten questioned back apparently wanting to get a further rise from the Doctor.

"Are you two done?!" Rose snapped losing her patience.

"Goddard, inform the Cage we're heading down. You, English. Look after the girl. Go and canoodle or spoon or whatever it is you British do. And you, Doctor with no name, come and see my pet. Perhaps if you prove yourself here I can trust your judgement concerning the girl" Van Statten spoke up.

….

(Rachael's P.O.V)

My head hurt.

Not just your average headache either. It was like my brain had been replaced with a wet cloth with each end of said cloth hanging out of my ears and some villain had come along and grabbed both ends of the cloth and rung it out to dry. Thus squeezing my brain as tightly as they could until all the liquid inside had been drained and I was nothing but a damp mess.

Luckily for me the room I was in was reasonably dim, the only light source coming through a single light bulb which seemed to receive hardly any power.

I suppose it was a scare tactic to intimidate me by leaving me in a dark and moody atmosphere but at the moment with the way my head felt it was practically a heaven sent.

My awareness was coming back to me, slowly but all the same it was coming. I could remember the feeling of hands on my chest and some one's mouth on my own which had startled me so much I had quickly opened my eyes only to be met with a matching blue to my own.

The realisation that I could breathe had over ridden the impulse to shout at the person who I had first seen and I had greedily began to take in all the oxygen I could, blanking out all those around me.

Subsequently my throat was still sore from where I had been choking previously and as a result I ended up coughing after trying to take in too much air which my throat couldn't handle. I began to get caught up in a coughing fit which the man to the left of me lent his hand to assist before he quickly moved away.

I wasn't sure why he had but I dismissed his reasons as I was too busy trying to get my coughing under control.

It took a while but I had eventually succeeded, my eyes watering slightly as my breathing calmed down. I was just becoming more aware of my surrounding when I felt two arms take hold of each of my own and I was forcefully dragged to my feet.

A shouting match had then started up but the words were unfocused to my ears and as I was dragged further and further away they became completely indistinguishable. I had tried to struggle initially but even moving one of my limbs a little bit felt like a huge strain causing my breathing to pick up significantly.

Eventually I just let my tense muscles relax and allowed the two men "escorting" me to take me where ever they had in mind.

Hence I had ended up here.

I had been here around ten minutes, enough for my thoughts to organise themselves to the point where I seriously was considering the events to be a dream…or possibly some elaborate prank.

How else would you explain the sudden shift in events, going from the abandoned steel works factory to…wherever here was?

_"Then again…maybe this was the abandoned factory…the concrete walls certainly matched…maybe this was just a part I had never seen before…?"_

I was just brooding over this when the door opened causing me to squint as the corridor light flooded the room and I let out a small hiss of pain. I went to move my hand in front of my eyes to cover them but quickly found that I couldn't. Glancing down I realised for the first time my hands were handcuffed behind the chair's back.

_"Oh…"_

My small hiss caught the person in the doorway's attention and a Northern voice spoke, "Sorry about that" accompanied by them closing the door and sound of carefully placed footsteps followed by the sound of a chair being pulled out as the stranger took his seat.

….

(Doctor's P.O.V)

Of all the things it could have been he had never expected it to be a Dal-….

Why? Why? Why, did it have to survive!?

After everything he had done! His name, who he was, his own people! And yet…

He never imagined that cry for help was from one of them…

And how the knowledge that it was burned…

He'd gotten carried away in that room, unleashed some of his fury on it, revealed some of the storm…though a part of him still whispered he hadn't went far enough…

If it hadn't been for Van Statten's men pulling him out…well…who knows what would have happened…

As it was he currently found himself standing in the corridor which led to identical rooms to the one he had just been in, each and every one of them reinforced if the material and access codes were anything to go by.

Van Statten followed him out once again trailed by the woman, Goddard he believed her name was as well two of Van Statten's personal bodyguards, once they were in hearing distance he began "The metal's just battle armour. The real Dalek creature's inside."

"What does it look like?" Van Statten question curiously.

"A nightmare. It's a mutation. The Dalek race was genetically engineered. Every single emotion was removed except hate" he explained practically spitting each of the words out.

"Genetically engineered. By whom?" Van Statten asked.

_"Oh of course he would ask that of all things."_

"By a genius, Van Statten. By a man who was king of his own little world. You'd like him." He replied snippily

"It's been on Earth for over fifty years. Sold at a private auction, moving from one collection to another. Why would it be a threat now?" The Goddard asked.

_"Finally a descent question!"_

"Because I'm here. How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?" he asked, he just had to find out how it survived.

Once again it was the woman giving him what he needed to hear, "The records say it came from the sky like a meteorite. It fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands. Burnt in its crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it was screaming. It must have gone insane"

"It must have fallen through time. The only survivor." He easily deduced.

"Looks like you are as good as you say" Van Statten commented, earning a surprised look from him.

"I aim to please" he replied carefully, unsure as to what the man was up to. Someone with as big an ego as Van Statten doesn't just give away compliments unless they want something.

"So Doctor, now you've proved yourself how'd you fancy seeing what you can find out about the girl?" he questioned with a challenging gaze.

"I-…" and then he stopped realising what Van Statten had said. His rage towards the Da-… his rage had completely blindsided him towards the girl whose life he had saved. She did interest him, he was curious about her as she was quite the anomaly however that was before the Dale-…before the new threat presented itself, lives were now at stake.

"We don't have time for that, I don't think you realise just how dangerous that thing is" he said whilst gesturing to the door they had just come out of.

He expected Van Statten to at least try to persuade him otherwise so when the man merely smiled back he was instantly on edge.

"So you're saying you no longer prioritize the girl?" Van Statten questioned the corner of his lip twitching.

There was something off by the way he said it but he couldn't figure out what…yes she wasn't his top priority but she was still on the list.

Before he could answer Van Statten turned to Goddard and said, "Order the men to kill her then" his words unwavering as he turned to keep eye contact with the Doctor.

"Sir?" Goddard questioned clearly taken aback by the order.

The Doctor used these precious seconds to sweep in, "What do you mean kill? I thought you were interested in her?"

Van Statten merely tutted before saying, "You were the one who was so desperate to save her not me, I kept her alive as I was intent to know what you found so fascinating…but since you know longer hold an interest…I guess it's time to get rid of the waste."

The Doctor could feel his blood boiling, _"Waste? Waste? Waste?! No form of life was a waste! How dare he!"_ Of course he realised straight away that Van Statten was trying to force him into a corner and unfortunately he knew it was working.

"Wait!" he demanded just as Goddard went for her com's device, "I never said that, I just meant that you should be cautious of what's in there" he once more gestured to the room they had just been in.

"Don't worry we can handle it easily. I take it this means you do want to question the girl?" Van Statten asked smugly.

The Doctor refrained from punching said smug look of his face and instead replied "yes" and was once more led outside to one of the reinforced doors which led to another one of the "cages" only less advanced; they clearly saw her more of a threat than him and Rose but less of a threat than the Dalek.

Van Statten may have won this round but he had better watch himself, as soon as the Dalek was taken care of he was going to make sure this place was closed down…permanently.

Still as the access code was entered to the room he couldn't help but feel a somewhat excited, he would be lying if he said he wasn't at all curious about her. In fact ever since he had become aware of her presence she had been like an itch he couldn't quite scratch.

The door opened to reveal a grey quite frankly boring room which was decorated with a singular metal table with two metal chairs on either side of it, on one of the chairs sat the female from earlier a contemplative look on her face.

He noticed her wince as the door opened and he immediately realised what was wrong having been in her position many a time in his past regenerations.

"Sorry about that" he quickly apologised, shutting the door behind himself before approaching the desk at an even pace to seem less threatening and then taking a seat.

This was the sort of situation he had initially expected when first getting the distress signal so Dalek aside he vowed he would help her.

Clearing his throat he linked his fingers together as he relaxed into his chair whilst leaning on the table, "I'm the Doctor, don't worry I'm here to help."

….

(Rachael's P.O.V)

Ironically enough when the man introduced himself she did not immediately presume he was "The Doctor" despite her being the one to have fooled around pretending the crack in the wall was the real thing.

Due to the dim lighting she could not fully make out his features, just his outline and accent which realistically could belong to any one from the North.

Instead she recalled hearing the accent earlier and connected the dots that this was the man who resuscitated her and therefore thought the doctor was his title instead of his name.

"You…you were there earlier…" she spoke her words coming out harsh and scratchy due to her throat being over used earlier on when she had been choking.

She frowned at the same time as the man before her which would have been comical had her throat not been in pain and she resolved to speak more quietly instead deciding to whisper as she stated; "You saved my life."

During the time she had been alone she had realised the man's intentions had been completely innocent as she remembered being unable to breathe and realised she owed said man her life. Even if this was all a prank the not breathing part had been very real.

"Yes I did" he replied and she could once again make out his lips twitching into a small smile as her eyes adjusted to the dark.

"Thank you" she spoke forcing her voice to come out evenly if quietly. It wasn't every day someone saved your life and she figured she had to show her gratitude…Besides the fact it was just them and it being hard to see one another properly made it easier for her to get over her pride.

She could see the small smile lift visibly into a grin as he added "You're welcome." There was a pause in which silence prevailed and she noticed his smile slowly drop. She herself saw no need to speak as it would only cause her unnecessary pain; she would rant once she was sure she was up to it.

"Well, aren't you going to give me your name? You do have me at a disadvantage" he eventually commented in an almost impatient tone of voice.

She was originally going to snap back that he had not given his name either but instead settled on whispering, "You'll find I'm the one at the disadvantage" before lifting her handcuffed hands behind her back and rattling the chain for good measure so he would notice.

She could of sworn he frowned but it was hard to tell with all the shadows in the room instead she heard him speak, "Ah, guess I'll have to fix that then" before a whirring like noise filled the room accompanied by a blue light which illuminated his hand.

She was surprised when she heard a distinctive *click* as the cuffs around her wrist slackened and the whirring noise as well as the light came to a halt. The man pocketed the device at the same time she tried to experimentally free her wrists and was delighted when her attempt was a success.

Moving her hands in front of her she gently rubbed at her right wrist with her left hand before repeating it but vice versa. For all she was grateful she couldn't figure out why the man had done so and decided to voice such thoughts, at the very least it would distract her from how much the device reminded her of a certain fictional screwdriver.

"Do you not think that was foolish of you to do so? What if I were to attack you?" she questioned openly unable to hide her curiosity as she relaxed her hands upon her lap.

Much to her surprise her answer came in the form of a snort followed by an amused deep chuckle, it didn't last too long and when it did stop he replied, "I'd like to see you try. I doubt you could in your condition, your body still isn't recovered from being oxygen deprived I could tell so from you sluggish movements when you moved your arms towards your lap."

His reasoning was sound but she still felt distinctly insulted due to the fact he had laughed, "That may be so but people can often surprise you with what they can do if they're desperate enough" she protested.

His laughter grew to a close and he stated, "Yeah but still… I knew you wouldn't."

He sounded so sure of himself that it wound her up. "Why because I'm a girl!" she spat annoyed.

"No" he shook his head before he continued leaning forward on the table so that she could just about make out his blue eyes looking directly at her, "Because you said thank you."

She felt blood rush to her cheeks even as her confusion settled in, "What?" she asked.

"You were being held prisoner without knowing the reason why and instead of getting angry your first priority was to thank me" he explained his eyes seeming to glisten at her as if secretly smiling.

"Yes, ah, well…" she trailed off unable to retort to that, having to glance away due to feeling embarrassed.

To make matters worse she was sure he was smirking at her.

Clearing her throat she eventually muttered, "My name is Rachael Carter" conceding defeat to him after being left utterly speechless. Risking a glance at him she noticed his grin was back and bigger than ever at her response.

"Nice to meet you Rachael, so fancy telling me how an average human like yourself manages to get covered in void stuff?" he asked in an overly peppy voice which seemed a lot more unsettling than if he had just shouted at her.

As it was she had no idea what he was on about. "Void stuff?" she questioned completely lost.

The only void stuff she knew about was on Doctor who and that was fictional so he couldn't mean that-….

_"So that's what this was._

_The whole being held prisoner thing was done in order to set her up, that explained why he called himself the Doctor and his Northern accent, now it all made sense. God how could she have been so blind!" _

It was a prank, albeit a very elaborate prank but one none the less.

The man who she guessed was meant to portray the 9th Doctor judging by his accent replied, "You don't know? We'll start simpler then, how about this, when were you born?"

Now that she thought about it he was quite good at the impersonation it's just a shame they got the wrong Doctor. It was the 10th Doctor who talked about void stuff not the 9th, they mustn't have done their research correctly.

"8th of September 1995" she replied without missing a beat deciding on humouring the impersonator a little longer.

She watched as his face once again pulled into a frown and he seemed to start counting something off in his head, "hang on" he spoke his gaze suddenly snapping to hers, "that would make you seventeen years old" he give her a sceptical glance before adding, "you don't look seventeen?" the silent question left hanging in the air.

"That would be because I'm twenty two, why on earth would you say seventeen?" she questioned barely supressing her urge to eye roll at him.

His eyes widened at this statement and he muttered, "time travel as well..." looking up he added "it depends on which earth you refer, and yours in certainly not mine or so the evidence would suggest"

Despite knowing it was a prank his words completely lost her as she struggled to keep up, "What do you mean "which earth?"" she questioned feeling her headache beginning to edge back.

She gasped when he suddenly leaned even further forward across the table and nearer her personal space. She could now make out more of his face, enough so that she could recognize it as the 9th Doctor's visual appearance.

"Interesting that…" he commented whilst tilting his head.

"W-what is?" she whispered back trying hard not to look away from his steel like gaze as that would be a show of weakness in her eyes.

"The fact that the idea of parallel worlds seems to faze you and yet you completely ignored my comment on time travel…" his eyes narrowed as he looked at her squarely, "Who are you?"

"I already told you my name" she responded whilst crossing her arms across her chest.

"I don't mean your name I know I already know that. I mean who are you literally." His words were spoken with an edge this time, an intensity that had been missing before.

She didn't like the tone he was talking to her with, in fact she'd had just about enough of all this. It was time to end the prank.

"I could ask you the same thing!" she suddenly spoke up with a lot more strength to her voice despite how much it crackled as she spoke. "You dare talk down to me like that when you're nothing but an impersonator pretending to be the Doctor! Do you not have anything better to do with your time?" She demanded whilst standing up and pointing her finger at him accusingly.

His face which had been so stern before faltered visibly as his face dropped in confusion, "What do you mean impersonator, I AM the Doctor!" he declared almost self-righteously at the end.

"Yeah right, your totally the Doctor" she made sure to lay on the sarcastic tone thickly before rolling her eyes and adding, "Wow I didn't realise you took this acting stuff seriously."

The "Doctor" for his part looked utterly shocked his expression frozen almost laughably in place before he finally got a hold of himself and he looked at her curiously, "Hang on, have we met?" he questioned as he stood up .

"I think I'd remember if we'd met. Now you can drop the act and tell me where those two idiots have gotten too. I'm presuming this was their idea?" she questioned, looking around as if expecting someone to jump out on her.

"I don't know who you're talking about." He commented before shaking his head and narrowing his eyes at her, "If we haven't met then how do you know about me?!" he demanded furious.

_"He's clearly upset he's been rumbled."_ She thought somewhat amused.

"Course you do, Joanne and Natasha where are they?" she questioned before adding "and don't act so daft, of course I know about the Doctor, who doesn't? Especially your form, you and Rose Tyler traveling in th-…" but she didn't have time to finish the sentence as she was cut off.

He looked almost as if he was trying to recall something when Joanne's name was said however this changed the second she mentioned Rose Tyler as the Doctor had strode forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. She was just starting to protest, "Hey-…" when the Doctor spoke over her.

"Just how do you know her name!" he demanded whilst shaking her, his fingers starting to dig into her shoulders, "Who are you really, tell me!" he continued all signs of joking gone as he glared at her whilst giving her another shake for good measure.

The action was so unexpected that she found herself frozen to the spot_." If she didn't know any better she could swear it was almost like the real thin-…"_

The door slamming open broke her train of thought and caused her to glance over the Doctor's shoulder just as the guards came through and dragged the Doctor out of the room with him never taking his narrowed calculating gaze off of her. She did not go unaffected by these turn of events as she once again found herself forced into her seat and despite her struggling she soon found her hands once more cuffed behind her back.

She let out a scream of frustration as the door once again shut thus locking her once more in the dim light of the room, leaving her alone to question what was real and was not….

…...

So that's part 1 finished part 2 should be up by if not on Sunday so look forward to that. Quite happy with the result of this though I must warn part 2 will be a mix of cannon and non-cannon scenes. Any who next adventures will feature Joanne as it is going in the order they jumped in.


	3. Rachael runs

(Doctor's P.O.V)

He struggled against the two burly arms which had wrapped around both of his biceps and were currently pulling him away from Rachael and out of the interrogation room.

Narrowed eyes watched her form disappear behind the metal door as it slammed shut in his face, his thoughts pounding simultaneously against his skull as they begged for his attention.

_"Just who was she? How did she know about Rose? Why did she talk as if she was familiar with him, he had never met her before…then again there was something about her…her appearance, her name, which triggered a memory, one he couldn't quite recall…perhaps he was talking nonsense, he couldn't remember having met her before, it could just be his age. More importantly, was she from his future?"_

There were so many questions he needed answers to and these men had stopped him from finding even one acceptable reply. Said men had come to a stop in front of Mr Van Statten and he pulled his arms out of their grip when he realised they were going nowhere else, wiping down his jacket and glowering at them from the corner of his eyes.

His attention was diverted by Van Statten mock scolding him, "Now, now Doctor, I can't have you breaking all my toys" referring to his earlier confrontation with the Dalek.

He scowled openly at Van Statten "Breaking? I wouldn't have hurt her" he scoffed before adding "What? So suddenly she's your property?" whilst raising his eye brows questioningly.

"Anything alien belongs to me" Van Statten said as if stating a fact.

"What makes you think she's an alien?" The Doctor retorted his final pretences at getting along with the man completely gone.

"You saying she's not? Well apart from the fact she spewed out that weird gas stuff I heard you in there…" he nodded his head towards the interrogation room, "Parallel worlds you said, oooohhh the possibilities, can you imagine?" Van Statten exclaimed, his eyes shining with greed.

"She's still human, you have no say over her" the Doctor snapped back feeling aggravated by the man's one track mind, all he cared about was helping himself. It was disgusting.

"Oh don't I? If she's travelled through Parallel worlds then she won't be missed from any one here, not just that but I also heard a mention of time travel. You think I could let such a gem go?" he sneered.

"You didn't even care about her five minutes ago!" the Doctor raised his voice as he glared down at the arrogant man before him. As if he would let this idiot go through with what he was planning.

"That was before I found out her backstory" Van Statten explained with a smirk "And she's not the only one with an interesting background. Don't think I overlooked your conversation with the Metaltron" he finished before glancing at Goddard.

"You talked about a war?" she asked after nodding discretely at Van Statten's look.

"The Time War. The final battle between my people and the Dalek race" the Doctor explained as briefly as possible, not wanting to go into this now.

"But you survived, too" Van Statten commented making him frown.

"Not by choice" he replied his persona now subdued.

"This means that the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth. Doctor, there's you. The only one of your kind in existence" Van Statten pronounced whilst giving him a smile that revealed far too many teeth for comfort.

_"eh…I think I might be in a bit of trouble…"_ he thought far too late to get away as the guards once again apprehended him.

…

(Rose's P.O.V)

She soon found herself in a workshop of sorts where the boy who's name she had discovered was Adam had begun to show off some of his "toys."

His enthusiasm reminded her of a certain time traveller and she couldn't help but laugh along with him as he explained what his job was, he being so cute certainly helped matters.

Still…despite all his stories and bits and pieces he had to show her she couldn't help but find the place somewhat lacking.

Maybe it was because of everything the Doctor had shown her but she just didn't find it as interesting as the stuff he could be doing if he was a bit bolder, she decided to voice these thoughts.

"So, wouldn't you rather be downstairs? I mean, you've got these bits of metal and stuff, but Mister Van Statten's got a living creature down there" she exclaimed trying to engage his interest.

"Yeah. Yeah, well, I did ask, but he keeps it to himself." He explained before a sly look came across his face and he added, "Although, if you're a genius, it doesn't take long to patch through on the com system."

"So does that mean you can check up on the female?" she questioned as innocently as she could manage.

"Well, yeah I guess but-…" he started however she quickly cut him off sensing his hesitation.

"Come on, you were there too, don't tell me you're not interested?" she questioned noticing the look of consideration on his face. Deciding to give him that extra push she added, "Oh! I see…her security must be too hard to hack…sorry I didn't reali-…"

"Pfft of course I could get in, look I'll show you" he scoffed interrupting her whilst typing into his laptop, entering some sort of code to override the system.

She moved to look over his shoulder as he spoke, "According to protocol she's most likely in one of the interrogation rooms…" he trailed off a moment before he exclaimed, "Aha found her. Cage D…here we go." And a screen appeared on the computer monitor.

Video footage began playing giving her a field of vision that was diagonally looking down at the girl from earlier also enabling her to notice that the girl's hands were bound behind her back.

The girl was currently being antagonized by one of the guards who was standing right in front of her, leering down at her as he shouted, "Well?!" into her face.

She flinched but otherwise didn't react until the man grabbed a fistful of some of her loose waves, scrunching them up in his hand before pulling her head backwards by them and forcing her to look up at him.

The girl let out a small "ah!" which was quickly covered up by a hiss as she closed her mouth but her pain was visible all the same through the way her body remained tense.

Rose turned to Adam aghast, "Is this live!" she demanded.

Adam looked perplexed as he stepped away from her somewhat warily stammering out, "Well, er, yes. I mean it-…"

"They can't treat her like that! She hasn't done anything!" she interrupted appalled then added, "Where's the Doctor?"

"I don't know" he replied uselessly.

"Take me down there now" she commanded utterly furious.

…

(Rachael's P.O.V)

It wasn't as strong as hate per say but it was definitely more than a mild dislike.

That was the sort of emotion I felt as I stared up at the guard who was currently gripping my hair and thus responsible for the current feeling of pain shooting through my roots which felt like they were moments away from being torn from head.

The thought that I could leave this place with a bald spot caused me to scowl and bite down on my lip to quell the hiss which had been escaping me previously.

"I. Don't. Know" I pronounced clearly for perhaps the tenth time to his ridiculous questioning, making sure to pronounce each word clearly so he got the picture.

Suddenly the hand gripping my hair pushed forward sending my head into motion. The table grew before my eyes and I was far to startled to let out a cry as my forehead met with metal surface of the table before me.

I was aware of the pressure on my hair disappearing the second the *clang* made itself known and I was left to slump across the table as the guard who had been questioning me could be heard making his way towards the door.

I would have moved my arms towards my head to touch it in some feeble but all the same small amount of comfort however the handcuffs prevented this and I instead opted to groan out loud as the door to the room slammed shut.

I lay there a moment with my eyes shut feeling the pain spreading outwards from the point of origin, _"This was some mean joke…if it even was a joke…"_

I must have hit my pretty head hard if I was starting to believe the doubts which had plagued me since the Doctor had left.

I missed Natasha; she'd know what my next move should be. Hell if she'd been here she'd have warned me away from trouble before I could even get into it. Huh...I never thought I'd miss her constant worrying.

I even missed Jo Jo…okay I missed her just as much. Sure she annoyed me but we were twins, two halves of the same coin. She'd at least cheer me up about now; making her mouth go and rambling about this and that in order to lift the mood.

Her persona would change as she became all hyper, chattering away at a pace which would leave any listener baffled.

Natasha and I would complain at Joanne to slow down and as usual Joanne would ignore us and continue on her train crash of words leaving Natasha and me to exchange bemused looks and all our worries would seem that little bit smaller.

But they weren't here...this time I was on my own.

I used every inch of my will power to lift my head off the table and sit up straight when I heard the door frame rattle signalling someone's arrival.

Moving my back against the chair I kept my head hung and my eyes shut so that the light wouldn't bother me as much.

"Are-are…are you okay? My names Rose Tyler, are you hurt?" an unacquainted with and yet completely familiar voice questioned me.

My eye's widened and I once again became aware of my breathing as I fought with the urge to pinch myself.

Slowly I lifted my head and whispered, "Throats a bit raw but I'm fine" my eye's made contact with her own as I added, "Name's Rachael Carter."

Rose's mouth dropped open as she slowly stepped forward giving me a good look at her, "Your, your head!" she spoke shocked as she moved closer to me followed by a cautious Adam.

"What about it?" I questioned displeased that I was unable to accommodate to the sudden impulse I had to examine it due to my hands currently being bound.

She stepped even closer so she was now standing by my side just shy of my personal bubble as she reached out a hand towards my forehead. I automatically flinched and went to raise my arms. She saw the slight movement and jerked back only to be surprised when I didn't follow through, the room instead being filled with the rattling of my handcuffs which naturally drew their attention.

"I'm sorry" I apologized adding, "I've never liked strangers touching me."

She sent me a puzzled look which was quickly covered with her own bashful one as she added, "No, I shouldn't have scared you like that."

"I wasn't scared" I retorted, it wasn't my fault if I was jumpy around strangers. Plus who could blame me after everything that had happened, before she could respond I continued, "Where am I?"

Her brow furrowed as she asked, "You don't know?"

"I was a bit out of it when I arrived encase you didn't notice" I explained as a quick excuse deciding it was the safest option to go with at the moment.

"More than a bit" Rose added with a slight smile before she added, "Your underground, somewhere in Utah. This whole place belongs to some Van Statten guy."

"He's not just "some guy"" Adam interrupted before adding, "He owns the internet you know?"

I frowned as they recited what sounded eerily like something from the Doctor who episode Dalek,_ "were they really planning on taking the prank this far?"_

Deciding enough was enough and that the only way to end the prank was to "fall" for it I commented "Well that's not right…the only time Van Statten was in Utah was when he had the Metaltron…" easily feigning confusion.

"You know about the Metaltron?!" Adam spoke and it again surprised me how accurate these doubles were.

"Never mind that!" Rose interrupted effectively silencing us as she looked from him to me, "You said time...are you like the Doctor?" she question apparently more to herself before she nodded, "The Doctor will know what to do, it's time to get you out of here and to him" she finished whilst going behind me and messing with my handcuffs.

"You can't do that…" Adam stammered out before adding, "You'll get us in trouble, there's no way the guards will let her out!"

"You said it yourself, she knows about the Metaltron so we'll pretend to take her to it to see if they know each other. While we're at it we can see if that thing needs our help before we go and inform the Doctor. Trust me, he can help" Rose finished around the same time a familiar click went off.

"How'd you do that?" I questioned as I slipped the cuffs off, once more rubbing my wrists.

She held up a small silver key and smiled with her tongue between her teeth, a wicked glint in her eyes as she said, "Snuck it from the guards while Adam here was busy showing off his access card, thought we might need it."

Adam on his half had his mouth hanging open and looked utterly stunned, I myself opted for a similar expression which quickly morphed into one of joy as I said, "Prank or not what you just did was amazing!"

She shared my expression although frowned at my statement before dismissing it as she headed for the door saying, "Adam, we'll need you to lead us to the right door so be ready."

"This is mad completely mad" Adam muttered to himself as he made his way to stand in front of us however his expression was just as excited as ours.

Turning back whilst pausing by the door he asked one last time, "You sure you want to do this?"

Rose bit her lip before nodding resolutely saying, "It's what the Doctor would do" causing Adam to face the door once more.

As the door opened I was filled with apprehension and judging by Rose's tense posture she was to, reaching out I gave her hand a quick squeeze earning a surprised yet grateful look from her before we both faced forward once more.

A part of me was sad to see the practical joke come to an end because I knew it would now that I had agreed to see the Metaltron. It was impossible for them to have gotten a hold of a Dalek so I knew it was over. They would probably reveal the set up once we entered the room where the supposed thing was.

_"Ah well…time to wrap things up…"_

The second we approached the room the guards tried to stop us, _"trying to stop me finding out the room is empty hey? I don't think so"_ I thought as I charged right on through past Rose and Adam only partly aware of said boy excusing our presence, something about level 3 access.

…

_"No way…"_

My feet came to halt a short distance from the doorway as my eye's came to rest on the far side of the grey room where four lights stood in a rectangular shape around the pepper pot looking creature that I had only ever seen on the television.

I released the breath which I belatedly realised I had been holding as Adam and Rose entered the room, a distant part of my brain taking note of the door closing shut behind them.

I ignored Rose as she slowly edged towards the creature and introduced herself. I was far too busy staring intently at the lit up blue eye stalk that was pointing almost sadly downwards.

"Yes" the thing replied in a slightly crooked voice.

"What?" Rose asked curiously, watching it sympathetically.

The eye stalk slowly lifted to look at Rose, "I am in pain, they torture me, but still they fear me. Do you fear me?" it asked the lights on its head flashing as it spoke.

"No" Rose answered her gaze softening as she took in the state of this creature.

This creature that shouldn't even be here, it couldn't be here…

_"They don't exist."_

"Impossible" I muttered my own thoughts and yet it still caught the attention of the Dalek whose eye stalk swivelled to face me.

I gulped under the blue gaze feeling unnerved by the sensation of being stared at intently but being unable to figure out what said being was thinking. It was like when someone wears a mask, it had that strange ominous vibe to it and I couldn't help but want to hide away from it.

I was amazed at how calm Rose could act around it…though maybe it was because I knew what Daleks were capable of and she didn't, ignorance being bliss had never rung so true before…

Rose looked between us before gesturing at me, "This is Rachael, she's a bit like you, she knows what you've been through…kind of. You were both held against your will, I can help you like I helped her." she commented referring to how we had both been prisoners, obviously trying to break the ice.

Despite her being ignorant of what Daleks were capable of that single sentence sent shivers of disgust through me and my whole face scrunched up as if to repel it away, her words being cut off as the lens in the Dalek eyestalk seemed to turn as it looked at her.

If she didn't know any better she could swear the Dalek studied her more intently before turning its gaze back to Rose and stating "I am dying."

"No, we can help" Rose protested displeased, "We can save you, you'll see" she added.

"I welcome death. But I am glad that before I died I have met a human who was not afraid" the Dalek croaked out in the closest tone that one of its species could get to that of sadness.

Despite how evil they were I once again found my emotions being pulled at as they had in the episode at this point and I couldn't help but pity it as I said, "Death should never be the acceptable answer" gaining stares from all occupants in the room.

After a beat of silence Rose finally spoke, "Isn't there anything I can do?"

It was at this point I decided to check if the Dalek was real or not. I was starting to get emotional and I didn't want to be made a fool of encase this was a prank. If it was real I was aware this was around the time Rose would touch the Dalek and if I beat her to it perhaps I could save her without getting shot at myself.

I joined Rose in front of the Dalek as it said, "My race is dead, and I shall die alone."

Completely ignoring Rose as her hand hovered in the air I sneaked my hand under hers as she went to touch the Dalek, her fingers instead slipping through the gaps in mine so that the full palm of my hand touched the Dalek but only the tips of her fingers did.

"Wait! Rose, Rachael!" Adam yelled in shock just as Rose gasped and much to my surprise and horror I realised the Dalek felt warm beneath my hand as if it was actually alive…

My mind snapped to what was going on around me as my whole hand suddenly felt as if had received a sharp burn and slight prick all at the same time.

Quickly withdrawing my hand I felt my horror mounting as I was met with the sight of a fading golden hand print with the edition of five extra fingertip prints.

"Genetic material extrapolated. Initiate cellular reconstruction!" the Dalek proclaimed as it started moving more animatedly and the chains started breaking off of it. Still in shock that all this was real and not a joke, I was only half aware as Rose grabbed my wrist in order to pull me backwards a bit.

A man in an orange suit entered just as we had all backed off to the door yelling, "What the hell have you done?"

I choose to ignore his yelling too caught up in the rush of the moment, for some unexplainable reason that crack had been real and I'm now stuck in and episode of Doctor who.

_"Oh my god I'm in the Whoverse…hang on…OMG the Doctor is real! I met the Doctor!"_ my thoughts begin to reel before snapping to a close as I recall this scene.

"Don't get to close! It's dan-…" I try to warn the man who was now standing right in front of the Dalek.

"Oh please" he starts condescendingly, "I think I know how to handle-…" but he doesn't get to finish as the plunger attaches to his face and begins to crush it.

"We have to g-go…" I stammer as I watch it come to an end horrified before turning and making to run out of the room practically tripping over my feet in my effort to get out of there as quickly as possible, Rose and Adam needing no extra persuasion.

…

(Doctor's P.O.V)

"Release me if you want to live."

Those were the words I uttered to Van Statten in my exhausted yet focused state.

I had known that no good could come from having the Dalek here especially since it had seen me but did he listen…no.

Not until now.

Not until the sirens had went off and he had been faced with the possibility of his own death.

Still I had no time to waste on matters such as the minds of corrupt humans, not now when I had to face off against the very plague of my existence, of the universe.

Adjusting my jacket, I strode down the corridor before breaking into a run towards Van Statten's office.

I was briefly comforted by the feel of the worn material against my skin. I was somehow stronger with it on, I was more than the weak old mad man, and my walls were once against rebuilt. I was now a time lord in his prime with his greatest weapon just waiting to be used…his mind.

Busting into office through the perfectly timed sliding doors I quickly took my place next to Goddard, directly in front of the screen displaying the area outside the cage.

Unfortunately the guards weren't the ones in front of the camera as I had expected, Rose was there.

_"Of course she was, where else would one of your companions be but in the thick of it"_ my mind scornfully told me.

She wasn't the only one in front of the camera. Directly behind her almost like an extra shadow stood the girl I had only recently come to know as Rachael, her face drained of colour as her eyes shifted about edgily.

A part of his mind also registered the English boy in the background but he was already preoccupied giving out orders to really give him any care, "You've got to keep it in that cell" he demanded.

"Doctor, I'm sorry I-…" Rose began to apologize only to be cut off as a guard took centre stage on the screen.

"I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that lock's got a billion combinations" the guard informed him confidently.

They really had no idea what they were up against…

My hearts were the only thing which reflected my true worry as my outside appearance remained stoic as ever as I prepared myself to reply. As I was doing so the back of mind noted Rachael was the only one not paying attention to the screen instead she was looking over her shoulder with a frown.

Preparations done, I frankly replied, "A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat" it was the only way I could think of to convey just how serious I was about not underestimating it.

At my words the rest of them moved away from the camera and to the exit their gazes focussed on the codes which were starting to unravel themselves by the cage door.

All but one of them that is.

Rachael remained curiously in place, her figure unmoving on my screen except for when she turned her head to face the camera her eyes unreadable.

"I'll keep her safe" she spoke her eyes trained on my own leaving me with no doubt of whom she was talking to.

The second her message had been delivered she wasted no time striding towards the exit where the others were, leaving me with no time to question her words. She reached the group just as the doors to the cage opened and the Dalek moved into view.

I clenched my hands at the sight of it my anger tempered only by my curiosity as I watched Rachael draw Rose's attention as she grabbed Rose's wrist and said, "We need to go, now" in a clipped tone of voice.

Rose seemed to hesitate but quickly allowed herself to be dragged off the second the guards started opening fire at the Dalek, the two of them disappearing from view as they left the room.

_"Good, Rose might make it out of here safe, there's still hope…"_

His thoughts took a back seat as Van Statten yelled out "Don't shoot it! I want it unharmed!"

The Doctor ignored the imbecile in favour of trying to persuade the guards to get out of there.

Unfortunately he only saw only one of them disappear around the door before the Dalek shot the screen and his visual of the room was lost.

…

(Rachael's P.O.V)

My heart was racing. An overused line I realise but blimey! I hadn't been this aware of my own blood flow since that time in Africa when I came across that spider…

I hate spiders! Especially the fast moving ones!

And if the Dalek was my metaphorical spider then boy had I better run.

_"I still can't believe this is all real. I'm seriously running from a Dalek with the Rose Tyler…Rose!"_

Sparing a glance down I once again was shocked by own boldness at the sight of my hand wrapped around Rose's wrist as I partly dragged her down the corridor.

I hadn't meant to, not really but I couldn't help myself. I remembered how Rose had kept on stopping throughout this episode and how it had annoyed me. If she had just kept focussed on getting away then maybe she would have made it, she had been just moments off getting through the door!

In a moment of recklessness even for me I had decided I would change that, I would save her and without thinking through the challenge I was taking on I promised the Doctor I would keep her safe and followed through with said words.

_"This wasn't some movie where the hero always wins. In the real world good intentions weren't always enough, you needed something more to succeed._

_Would my foreknowledge be enough?_

_Then again this whole place was fictional so did that rule even apply? Urgh I hated having to think of the consequence…that was Natasha's job and it was Joanne's job to fix said consequences."_

"Civilians! Let them through!" The voice I recognised as the female guard, De Maggio shouted from behind us just as we rounded the next corridor, successfully allowing us passage through the guards flanking the corridor.

My hand moved from Rose's wrist to her hand as I glanced towards her whilst keeping up my pace, refusing to think about the fate of the guards left behind.

"We can't stop running, Daleks have no concept of mercy so if it catches us that's it" I explained my voice strained due to my increased breathing.

"Oh well that's comforting" Adam retorted from a little bit ahead of us whilst rolling his eyes.

"How do you know?" Rose asked me her voice full of suspicion.

"I've seen them before" I answered curtly trying hard to keep my breathing even as my mind added on the end _"on my TV of course, oh  
sorry didn't I mention your whole world is fictional?"_

Changing my attention to the guard keeping point I yelled at her, "De Maggio!" gaining her attention. "That's your name right?" I questioned at her confused look.

"Yes Miss but if it's all the same now is hardly the time for conversation" she spoke back her face strained under the burden of looking out for our group.

"Yes but you see-…" I started only to be cut off by Rose as she pulled away and turned into a stairwell leaving me to follow.

"Stairs! That's more like it. It hasn't got legs. It's stuck!" Rose yelled in glee.

_"No!" _my mind screamed at me, I thought I'd bought enough time to talk to De Maggio,I was just getting started as well.

"It's coming! Get up!" De Maggio yelled drawing my gaze to her even as I started running up with the others.

When it quickly became clear the others had stopped and weren't going any further I turned back from my position on one of the higher steps and back tracked.

"We have to keep moving, Daleks wouldn't be as feared as they are if they could be defeated by a flight of stairs!" I hissed whilst grabbing hold of Adam and Rose's arms.

"Just look at it! There's no way it can get up here!" Adam dismissed as it rolled into view.

I gulped feeling that time was running out, Rose must have noticed something was off as she went to reach for my shoulder but stopped short at my glare.

"Rachael, just calm down alright. Look if it was going to get us it would have but it's just sitting there" she pointed out gesturing at the Dalek who was as Rose had pointed out just sitting there.

Turning to her I gripped her arm tightly taking her by surprise as I hissed out, "Daleks are smart, they pay attention-…" I gestured to where De Maggio was trying to negotiate with the Dalek.

"…-I accept that we imprisoned you and maybe that was wrong, but people have died, and that stops right now. The killing stops. Have you got that? I demand that you surrender. Is that clear?" she was speaking whilst aiming her gun at the Dalek.

"They can also fly" I spoke watching as Rose's face drained of colour and her attention whipped to stairwell just as the Dalek spoke "Elevate!"

"Run!" I ordered feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline and grabbing both Adam and Rose by the elbow and directing them towards the upper stair case levels.

Perhaps it was my tone but both Rose and Adam stumbled up the stairwell as the Dalek hovered above the ground and began to advance

I turned my back on them even as I heard Rose gasp, "Oh my god!" as I moved away back towards De Maggio.

"That means you to" I told her firmly before latching my hand onto her arm and trying to pull her away.

She resisted though and pulled away before saying, "I'm staying here; I'll try buy you some time."

Scowling at her I hissed, "Need I remind you of your orders!" just as Rose yelled, "Come with us, you can't stop it"

"Someone's got to try. Now get ou-…" she began but her voice was cut off by a resounding *slap* leaving said woman in a state of shocked silence as a red hand print began to bloom on her face.

Taking advantage of her momentarily stunned demeanour I grabbed her wrist and this time facing no resistance pulled her with me as I began to run up the stairs, the sound of the Daleks gun hitting the wall where we had previously stood making a cold chill go down by my back.

Looking forward I rolled my eyes at the sight of Rose and Adam standing at the top of the next stairwell apparently having stopped to watch the events unfold.

"What part of "run" Don't you understand?" I scolded causing their eyes to widen before they turned tail once more as my voice brought them to the present.

It also brought De Maggio to the present as I saw he body stiffen in belated outrage and her mouth opened to speak, "What do you thin-…" she began but I interrupted her.

"Your orders. They were to keep the civilians safe, am I right?" I asked in a clipped tone which seemed to take her by surprise.

"Well, yes. But that doesn't-…" she began but I wasn't having any of it.

"And just how do you plan on doing that if you're dead?" I mock questioned shooting her a stern look whilst letting go of her arm.

She continued to keep pace besides me at least for the moment as we tried to make up for lost ground. Although the Daleks could fly I noticed that it took this particular one an awful amount of time to just hover off the ground.

Continuing where I left off as I looked forward I remarked, "If you're so desperate to play hero do it in other ways. Don't disrespect your friend's final wishes by going against his orders."

She seemed to consider my words as her brows slowly drew together, "How do you know that, you weren't there when my orders were given?" she eventually questioned.

"If we survive this I might just tell you" I told her with a wry grin earning a slightly baffled look in return.

"I'll hold you to those words" she eventually said, to which I nodded.

"No problem, I'm holding you to yours" at her confused look I nodded to Rose and Adam, "you promised to keep them safe" I added.

I made a promise without thinking it through but despite that I was still obligated to keep it. Having De Maggio on my side made it seem that little bit easier. The fact she was alive in the first place filled me with such warmth that it helped subdue the fear that had been eating at my mind ever since this chase began…it was hope.

After another pause she nodded before asking, "But what about you, aren't you a civilian?"

With a roguish grin I responded, "I'm a prisoner" my smile widening as her mouth dropped open.

…

(Rose's P.O.V)

I knew when I signed on to travel with the Doctor it would be dangerous but it seemed like I was only beginning to just grasp the full concept of it.

I don't know…I suppose…I suppose I thought that as long as the Doctor was by my side I would be safe….

I never considered what would happen if we got separated.

Now I was paying the price as I turned off the top of the staircase and down another corridor with said man nowhere in sight.

I glanced over my shoulder to check if the Dalek was following us, just about making out its shadow as it got nearer to the corner of the stairwell. Pumping my legs harder I moved round the next corner hoping to stay ahead of the Dalek with Adam doing likewise at my side.

Yeah, I could do this. The Doctor may not be here right now but all I had to do was reach him and I just knew I'd be safe.

Besides I had funny and cute Adam by mu side, not to mention we had our own personal guard and then there was Rachael…

She wasn't sure what to think about the girl, she was quite the mystery…

No one really knew how or why she came here and therefore if she was trustworthy. On the flip side to that she supposed that's what she must look like to Adam… Also the girl seemed quite intent on looking out for them so she guessed she couldn't be all that bad…

She remembered when the girl had grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room. She had been unsure if she could trust her but some gut instinct had told her she was okay…or at least she was more likely to live with her than if she stayed with the Dalek.

When Rachael had changed her grip to take her hand she had gotten that same rush of excitement she always got when her and the Doctor were running for their lives.

In a strange way the girl reminded her of the Doctor only not as alien…

Way back when in the store when she first met the Doctor and he took her hand he had been just as strange, just as much a mystery to her as Rachael…in fact he still was.

Rose would be lying if she said she wasn't curious about the girl who had broken into an alien museum, had a near death experience, didn't hesitate at seeing a Dalek and yet flinched away from human contact unless she initiated it.

Not quite as mysterious as the Doctor but certainly enough of a brain teaser to gain her interest…and suspicion…

Perhaps she was an alien; perhaps she was up to no good she did break in after all…

Glancing over her shoulder once more but this time at Rachael who was talking with the guard whose life she had technically saved.

Rose had been more than gobsmacked at the girl's brazen solution to the problem and was slightly envious as somewhere deep inside of her she knew if it had not been for the girl Rose would have probably listened to the guard and just ran off.

For now that action would be enough for Rachael to gain her temporary trust though it still didn't mean she would stay quiet. Oh, No. She had questions to be answered.

"So this thing, Dalek yeah? Why can't we reason with it?"

Rachael grimaced apparently struggling to take a breath before she answered, "A Dalek is the living definition of hate. It can't be reasoned with" she said in a way which implied she thought the answer was obvious.

"Surely we can negotiate?" the solider…something Maggio had questioned.

"You don't understand" Rachael panted as they approached a wide open room, "The one thing a Dalek wants…no needs…is to kill…kill anything that isn't Dalek" she said with wide gaps in between where she tried to maintain her breathing.

She skidded to a stop as she entered the holding bay, startled to be greeted by a bunch of armed men.

"Hold your fire! You four, get the hell out of there!" One of the men shouted and she wasted no time running past him and to the entrance at the other side, followed by the other three just as the Dalek entered.

They should be fine now. With this many reinforcements that thing didn't stand a chance.

…...

(Rachael's P.O.V)

I withheld from grimacing choosing to instead set my mouth into a hard line as we ran through the loading bay as the man had directed us.

Oh yes I remembered with perfect clarity what was to come next and felt helpless to prevent it

Even if I could warn them in time would they really listen? And if they did I knew for a fact the Dalek would be upon them before they had a chance to evacuate.

Swallowing the lump in my throat I discretely rubbed at my eyes as Rose and Adam turned to survey the room we had passed through with De Maggio having her gun trained there also.

"You have to keep your aim on the eyestalk" I shouted but only earned a dismissive glance from the man in charge before he turned his attention back to his weapon.

"Keep moving" De Maggio ordered a couple of seconds after the Dalek came into view my earlier conversation with her having apparently motivated her.

Adam grabbed Rose's hand and began to drag her along and after glancing back one last time I made to follow only to freeze at the Dalek looking right at me.

Unlike Rose I already had a presumption at the reasons behind its actions so I didn't go into full on panic mode. All the same…I would be lying if I said the intensity of its focussed look didn't unsettle me.

Rose's voice arguing with Adam pulled me back into action "I know, but it was looking right at me" and I grit my teeth as I realised we still hadn't moved.

"Not now Rose" I half groaned, half demanded as I gave Adam a push forward on his back to start him off running before grabbing Rose by the elbow to snap her out of her musings, "Come on!" I ordered and then gave her a tug forward as I once again began to run, trusting De Maggio to follow.

"Okay, so….." I started to say as we ran up yet another level; "_blimey I have never run this much before."_

"Say you're in charge of this place, you have a creature loose which you know has killed before and bullets don't seem to have any effect on it….what would you do?" I asked, leaving the question hanging.

If I could just get them to realise how serious the situation was then maybe they would be more co-operative.

"I'd find a better weapon" Adam commented after moment's silence.

"Yeah you could…" I acknowledged before tilting my head at De Maggio who had a frown on her face and prompted, "But…"

Her frown deepened as she rejected Adam's idea, "But you couldn't…the weapons are stored on the other side of the complex…you'd have to get past the Dalek to get them…"

The silence that followed spoke more than any simple words could at our collective agreement on the probability of getting past the Dalek undetected, let alone surviving such a risk.

"Where are you even going with this?" Rose questioned.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me? You're the solider, the genius and the one with past experience…" I said gesturing to each in turn, "What would you do?"

Adam's eyes widened and a sickened look crossed his face as he whispered, "They wouldn't…"

"Oh? You're telling me you wouldn't?" I challenged back my words coming out scratchy due to my still irritated throat which added a certain menace to them.

"Wouldn't what? What is it?" De Maggio probed at the silence following my words.

Adam breathed harshly before saying, "They're going to seal us off…"

My expression turned grim even though I had known all along what was happening whilst Rose firmly protested, "No! There's no way the Doctor would let something like that happen!"

Rose looked furious but I think part of her anger was to cover up how scared she was. Well that's okay; she wasn't the only one scared.

Letting out a breath I gave her a hard look before saying, "Who says he'll have a choice?"

Rose's face crumpled and she opened her mouth as if to retort but no words came out. Instead it was De Maggio who spoke her words stern but a lot quieter, "Which floor do you think it will be at?"

This was where I had to be careful, I couldn't give away too much without making them untrusting of me, "I don't know" I spoke with a shrug then added, "so it's best we get as high as possible."

Subconsciously or not, after my words I noted the group had picked up speed.

…

(Doctor's P.O.V)

The constant screaming, the sound of children crying, the terror so thick that fear itself was palpable in the air, all of the memories that he tried so hard to fight off.

The citadel ablaze, the red of the flames blending in with the sky so that at a distant it seemed like the sky was falling as if the end of days had truly arisen. Whole fleets of Tardis's turned to ash, the rest of them unable to mourn their fallen sisters as they too were called to the front lines.

The Chaos, the Darkness, the sheer madness of it all in those final days…

The blood, the scars, the glow of time lord regeneration being the only thing left to light up the night towards the end…the memories he fought so hard to forget now brought to the fore front of his mind as this Dalek purposely mocked him as it showed off its destructive capability.

He could see the war just behind his eye lids, ghosts of his past merging with his present as the Dalek forced him to watch as it killed off all those men. How it showed him just how easy it was for it to take so many lives without even trying.

The Dalek was doing so much more than its usual insane killing spree, this one was disturbingly smart…it was sending him a message on a much more personal level.

"I shall speak only to the Doctor" his eyes narrowed at the screen after the Dalek voiced its demands.

Slowly moving to stand I carefully surveyed it before replying, "You're going to get rusty."

"I fed off the DNA of Rachael Carter and Rose Tyler. Extrapolating the biomass of one of the Trinity as well as the extra energy from a time traveller regenerated me." The Dalek stated.

"What Trinity?" I questioned allowing my curiosity to get the better of me and hopefully stall the Dalek so that Rose had a better chance of escape"

"The Trinity is not yet complete" the Dalek voiced once again in that frustratingly vague manner all its kind possessed…or rather did.

"Well what's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a raised voice.

"Silence will fall before the Doctor remembers all" the Dalek answered ominously.

"Remember what? I haven't forgotten anything, why would it be silent?" I asked completely lost on what it was talking about, perhaps falling through time did frazzle its mind.

Only this time I didn't get a response and the Dalek chose to remain quiet, either not knowing the answers or not caring to give them.

As interesting as that little riddle was it would have to wait, one silly prophecy didn't have a chance at distracting me from the last Dalek in existence. Narrowing my eyes I changed the subject back to the matter at hand, "What's your next trick?"

"I have been searching for the Daleks" it only now decided to reply.

"Yeah, I saw. Downloading the internet. What did you find?" I asked mockingly, since it was so keen to rub salt into my wounds it would only be kind to repay they favour.

"I scanned your satellites and radio telescopes." It began before pausing.

_"Oh that's interesting…"_

"And?" I goaded moving closer to the screen

"Nothing. Where shall I get my orders now?" if I didn't know better I would say it almost sounded panicked, _"fantastic!"_ I thought spitefully.

"You're just a soldier without commands" I told it my hatred dimming to worn out pity.

"Then I shall follow the Primary Order, the Dalek instinct to destroy, to conquer" it screeched and effectively wiping out any possible feelings of empathy with it as my anger took over.

"What for? What's the point? Don't you see it's all gone? Everything you were, everything you stood for" I spat incensed. Even with the effects if the war it still couldn't realise the errors of its way. I try and I try to give every species an equal chance but the Daleks are just too much.

_"Perhaps the universe would be better off without them…"_ the thought came unbidden.

"Then what should I do?" It asked all so innocently and oh wasn't this just waiting for me, after everything this species had put me through, put the universe through.

"All right, then. If you want orders, follow this one. Kill yourself" I spoke calmly as I voiced some of the thoughts that had long since plagued me…it felt strangely liberating to be honest…

"The Daleks must survive!" it screeched back displeased.

"The Daleks have failed! Why don't you finish the job and make the Daleks extinct. Rid the Universe of your filth. Why don't you just die?" I yelled back letting my grief and anguish consume me for just a moment as I yelled it all out at it.

Oh and then didn't the punch in the gut come…

Just before the screen cut out the Dalek retorted, it's voice level and yet it chilled me in a way I had not thought possible after all these centuries of slowly becoming hardened to the outside world.

"You would make a good Dalek."

…

(Rachael's P.O.V)

I was running side by side with Rose by this point, Adam taking up the front whilst De Maggio took up the rear.

I kept an eye on her to make sure she was keeping up with us okay, _"I did not save her just so she could get killed later on!" _I thought vehemently to myself as I watched the solider slow once again to check that we weren't being followed.

My eyes strayed from her to where she was looking, _"So far so good" _though I knew just because I couldn't see the Dalek it didn't mean it still wasn't on our trail.

Just as I faced forward again Rose's phone began to ring, _"I was wondering when he would phone. This meant he had already started the procedure which would eventually seal the vaults; we were running out of time…"_

"This isn't the best time" Rose spoke into her mobile after she fished said device out of her pocket.

I didn't hear what the Doctor said but I could guess from the way Rose slowed and looked up at the wall we were running past and then saying into the phone, "level forty eight."

We were one floor ahead of the Dalek than they had been from the episode but I wasn't sure it was going to be enough. The effects of pushing ourselves so quickly meant that we were struggling to keep up the pace now.

Whatever the Doctor said to Rose next caused Rose to frown and she out loud to us, "They're closing the doors at level forty six"

Adam sped up the pace and De Maggio became more level with me and Rose as said girl added into her phone, "can't you stop them closing?" apparently she still believed in the Doctor.

I didn't really blame her, in most circumstances it was a wise move. Still as expected her brows furrowed even further at the Doctor's reply and she added rather unexpectedly, "Rachael helped us work it out a while ago"

Rose bit her lip as she listened to whatever the Doctor was saying to her which made me frown.

_"This wasn't right, he should have hung up by now" My frown deepening as I noticed Rose's pace slowing more as she concentrated, "We're going to lose our progress at this rate."_

Letting out a huff of frustration I snatched Rose's phone from her hand earning a startled "Hey!" from said girl as I spoke over her, "You're starting to slow down."

Turning my head to De Maggio who had been watching the whole exchange I ordered, "You're meant to be keeping an eye on the civilians, I want you to make sure she stays near the front at all times."

To my surprise De Maggio complied without any objections, I had at least been expecting some complaints.

Instead the woman holstered her pistol and moved positions so that she could grab Rose's wrist and pull her forward. As a soldier, guard or whatever she was I at least knew she had some degree of fitness which I knew for certain was higher than ours, meaning she had better stamina.

It seemed ever since I had saved her and started making "observations" which turned out to be correct such as the doors closing on us that De Maggio was paying me with more regard.

She did however turn back and say, "You better keep up as well Miss; you still owe me an explanation."

This earned her a grin and a sharp nod of my head as I ran up another flight of stairs before returning my attention to the stolen phone and what appeared to be concerned shouts coming from it.

Lifting it to my ear as I looked straight ahead I noticed that Rose had stopped struggling and that she and De Maggio were starting to catch up to Adam I spoke, "Yelling won't make anything better so just calm down, Rose is fine if a little miffed."

"Rachael!" he exclaimed in surprise before his voice became harsher and…desperate? "Why did you take Rose's phone. I need to talk to her, you are running out of time, you nee-…" but I cut him off.

"Were nearly there Doctor, just a couple more seconds" I spoke already down the corridor that led to the door which would secure our safety.

There was silence on the other end for a moment and I used it to pump my legs even faster in order to catch up to De Maggio and Rose who were a few feet ahead of me after being sped up by De Maggio going to her full ability after having held back so long in order to keep an eye on us "civilians."

I was just letting out a harsh breath when the Doctor's regretful tone spoke in my ear, "I'm sorry."

_"No! Time's up! Got. To. Move."_

"Hurry up!" I yelled at the three of them as the door's alarms began to sound and the metal began to lower.

Just like in the episode Adam was first to make it under, only this time he didn't have to role. The door wasn't even half way down when he made it through the entrance, his form visibly sagging as he turned back to the rest of us.

"Your almost there!" he yelled back unhelpfully, standing uselessly on the other side as we ran desperately to join him.

My legs were burning and the stitch I had developed during this long chase would have been crippling by this point if it hadn't been for the slight adrenaline high I was currently on.

The door was now three quarters of the way down and Rose and De Maggio were getting nearer although Rose was a clear weight on the other woman's progress.

I had caught up with them by this point and had placed my hand on Rose's back in an attempt to push her forward as we made final run together.

Breathing heavily, De Maggio rolled under the door before turning and reaching out a hand towards us with Adam in the background making hurry up gestures with his hands.

"Get down Rose" I yelled pushing her down onto her knees which she naturally reacted to, her body moving low enough so that she could fit under the door as she took De Maggio's hand and allowed the woman to pull her exhausted body under.

I had of course known at this point that there was no chance of me getting through, I had realised that the second I had let Rose through before myself.

_"Oh well, at least I kept my promise"_ were the only comforting words I had as the last thing I saw from their side of the door was Rose's eyes as she turned over and the growing horror in them as comprehension dawned I would be trapped.

I shot her a smirk just as the metal door sealed shut with an audible, *clunk*

Turning I let my body slump against said door as I gathered my breath and let the consequences of my actions slowly dawn on me.

In the movies the hero always seems relieved that at least they did the right thing and don't seem at all scared when they meet their demise.

Let me tell you now that relief is but a shallow comfort and provides little ease due to being so bitter sweet.

My stomach remained tied up in knots despite the slight muffled banging I could hear from the other side of the door which made my lips curve slightly, Rose's actions I presumed.

Yes the whole thing was indeed very bitter sweet.

My breathing was still heavy at this point but compared to what it had been I was at the very least assured I was not going to pass out.

_"Although, perhaps that would have been better…." _I thought to myself as the Dalek turned the corner of the corridor and began making its slow way towards me,_ "At least then I would be unaware of my death, no pain…"_

It seemed we had sped up enough so that the Dalek was further behind, yet due our bad timing one of us had still remained trapped. I had been sealed off for about a minute when it suddenly occurred to me that I had yet to answer the phone which was letting out a familiar panicked Northern accent.

Lifting the phone to my head I shifted my posture so that I was standing straighter before I spoke into the phone, "Hey" and had to immediately move the phone from my ear as the Doctor almost deafened me with his questions.

"Rachael? Where's Rose? Did she make it through?! Is she okay? Is she…"

"Rose is fine, they're all fine" I cut him off, pausing to hear the relieved sigh on the other end of the phone.

Okay, that did make me feel just a little bit better.

"So she's definitely okay then?" he doubled checked as if to be sure he hadn't imagined my response.

"Yes Doctor, I told you I would keep her safe" I tried to reassure him.

"In that case why doesn't she answer me?" was his shrewd reply.

"Look she's fine, bit shaken and probably angry at me for taking her phone but otherwise she'll live"

"If she's so angry why don't you let her on the phone?" he asked carefully.

"Doct-.." I began but he cut in, "Put her on the phone."

I sighed at this man's stubbornness before gritting out, "I can't"

"If she's safe then why can't yo-…" but he cut himself off and there was a moments silence before he went, "Oh…" in a tone that gave the distinct impression he had worked something out which was confirmed as he added, "you said, "they're" not "we" you didn't make it through."

His statement was left with a cold silence which was all the confirmation he needed.

Changing the subject I added, "Could you do me a favour and apologise to a woman for me, goes by De Maggio it looks like we won't get that conversation after all."

The silence on the other end was becoming very unsettling before it was broken by one word, "Why?"

I knew instantly what he was talking about but chose to ignore it. There was simply no way to explain to him in the time I had left that he was someone I had idolized from a TV show set in an alternative universe as well as my foolish morale beliefs.

Instead I said, "Make sure you tell Rose it wasn't her fault, it wasn't any of theirs. No one can change my mind once it's set one something, I don't want them blaming themselves."

He made a noise of confirmation through the phone before I added, "I think I might have liked you Doctor, shame we didn't talk long."

"Your quite good at dodging questions aren't you?" he remarked though his voice was softer, fonder…or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

"And you are good at asking them." I retorted with a smirk before concentrating on my surroundings.

The Dalek knew I had no way out and was taking its sweet time, perhaps sadistically savouring the moment.

Even if it didn't kill me I knew I would be trapped as the Doctor had no close connection with me to sway him to risk opening the bunker for me.

Letting out a sigh I added, "You might want to hang up now."

I myself didn't have the will, a selfish part of me wanting to cling on to his voice to avoid facing the demon which was almost upon me.

"Just answer me this, who are you?" the Doctor speedily asked again almost urgently.

"Isn't that my question? I told you already who I am, Rachael Carter" I rolled my eyes as I replied.

There was another silence and I almost decided to hang up anyways since it appeared conversation had ended when he surprised me once again, "Rachael." He stated as if he were greeting me almost.

"Doctor." I shot back.

"Thank you." He replied leaving me gaping as I had not expected those words, certainly not from this incarnation of the Doctor.

"You're welcome" I replied before falling into a more comfortable silence as I stepped towards the Dalek which had stopped mere feet from me.

"Well? Let's not draw this thing out, we both know where this is headed" I said staring at it resolutely.

It wasn't like in the films where the hero stands firm and proud although that was what I was going for. My knees wobbled and my eyes started to fill with water despite the firmness to my voice.

_"No one wants to die…oh god; they'll never find a body will they... they'll search but they won't-Joanne and Natasha will blame themselves…my fault…Mum, Dad, everyone else to will suffer to…sorry, I'm just... I'll miss you."_

The words of the Dalek didn't reach my ears as I watched the Dalek's light bulbs flash once before automatically closing my eyes.

_"This was it…"_

I tensed as I waited for the strike to hit…

…

Okay so, I did intend to finish Rachael's adventure in two chapters however I seem to have gotten a little carried away…woops. Hopefully things should wrap up nicely next time so look out for that and maybe then we can start on Joanne's first adventures. Mentions of the Time Trinity but nothing solid as of yet, more spoilers as the story progresses, Alons-y!


End file.
